Jose Mourinho
'Jose Mario dos Santos Mourinho Felix ' born (26 January 1963) is a former Portugese footballer who was manager of Chelsea F.C. from 2004 to 2007. Chelsea career First term Arriving from Porto in the summer of 2004, Mourinho, the reigning European champion manager, proved an instant success as Claudio Ranieri's replacement, declaring himself as 'a special one' in his first day at the club. Things began well on the field too, with a 1-0 win over Manchester United on the opening day of the 2004-05 season. The team went unbeaten for the first eight games of the season, before a 1-0 defeat at Manchester City, the only loss in a league campaign that brought Chelsea's first championship in 50 years. The final points total of 95 remains an all-time top-flight record and we finished 12 points clear of second-placed Manchester United, conceding just 15 goals, a Premier League record. February of that first season also brought a League Cup triumph, coming from behind against Liverpool to snatch victory in Cardiff, but the Reds would get their revenge three months later, narrowly edging Chelsea out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage, with a goal that looked not to have crossed the line. Mourinho was outraged, suggesting that 'the best team lost', and so the controversial side of the charismatic Portuguese was visible to all, as it had been in an earlier tie with Barcelona, although on this occasion on the pitch, there was a happy ending when Stamford Bridge played host to one of the most dramatic games in those first 101 years as the Catalan giants were knocked out by a 4-2 victory on the night. After that first, highly successful campaign and among many warnings that retaining the title would be an even tougher task than winning it for the first time, Chelsea got off to a flyer in Mourinho's second season, winning the first nine league games having not conceded in the opening seven. When defeat eventually arrived, the team reacted with typical fortitude, going on another winning run that lasted 10 Premiership games and included a first league win at Highbury for over 15 years in the Blues last game at the stadium. The league was won with first place in the table never surrendered, making Chelsea only the second team to win back-to-back titles in the last 20 years. Injuries to key members of the squad, including goalkeepers Petr Cech and back-up Carlo Cudicini, as well as inspirational captain John Terry, made Mourinho's last season a difficult one, where the team, Mourinho said, had to play 'survival football'. More goals conceded and fewer goals scored were evidence that the spark in the play seen earlier in his tenure had dimmed. But Chelsea clinched the Carling Cup in February with victory over Arsenal, followed by the FA Cup at Wembley in May, the last remaining English domestic trophy Mourinho had sought. He maintained his remarkable run of never being beaten in the league at Stamford Bridge, a sequence still intact on the day of departure. During the summer of 2007, the manager promised a more mellow Mourinho, but the start of the new campaign followed on from the last with injuries again striking and top form proving elusive. By beginning his fourth season at the club, it had become his longest stay at any club but after three games without a win, Mourinho and Chelsea Football Club agreed it was in the best interests of both parties for him to move on. Second Term On 3 June 2013, after months of rumours and speculation, Mourinho was confirmed to be the man to replace Rafael Benitez, after being let go by Real Madrid, who he had managed for the past three seasons. Honours *League Cup: 2 (2005, 2007) *FA Premier League: 2 (2004-05, 2005-06) *Community Shield: 1 (2005) *FA Cup: 1 (2007) Category:Managers